Alix Earle got extremely raw as she publicly discussed her recent breakup with NFL star Braxton Berrios for the first time.
“Braxton and I are no longer together,” she tearfully told fans via TikTok on Saturday, December 13. “We have been doing long distance since, basically, June and we haven’t got to see each other that often. It’s just been really difficult for me.”
Earle explained that she felt “really motivated” to live in Los Angeles during her time on Dancing With the Stars and has considered moving there permanently.
“I think that was a scary thing for me to realize because it meant us not being in the same place. A part of me also really wants to be focusing on myself right now,” she acknowledged. “I just feel like I can’t be what Braxton needs.”
The “Hot Mess with Alix Earle” host continued, “I want him to have someone who can be there for him 24/7 and support him. He wasn’t really expecting that of me … I constantly felt guilty.”
Earle shared that separating from the Houston Texans wide receiver, 30, was especially “difficult” because she considers him to be her “best friend.”
“It just kinda feels like we’re on two different paths right now and it sucks,” she admitted. “We’re on good terms and I don’t want anyone to come for him or be mean to him.”
The podcaster confessed to “questioning” herself so much that she wasn’t sure “how [she] feel[s] even makes sense.”
“I think I ultimately just wanted to go with trusting my feelings,” she said. “This has just been really hard. … It’s not drama. It’s not because he did anything wrong or I did anything wrong. It just didn’t really feel like it was working out, in the moment.”
Earle denied that the breakup had anything to do with Berrios missing her Dancing With the Stars performances due to his NFL schedule.
Us Weekly exclusively reported on December 6 that the former couple had called it quits after two years together.
“[A] majority of their relationship was long-distance and it was hard for them to navigate,” an insider told Us. “They mutually agreed on the split.”
Us subsequently learned that “distance was a huge factor” in why the relationship fell apart over the last few months.
“She really wants to spend more time in LA, while Braxton lives in Florida,” a source said, noting that “they realized they were growing apart as a couple.”
Berrios tried to make light of the breakup on Thursday, December 11, by sharing a new photo of himself via Instagram, along with the caption: “What did I miss?”
When someone replied that he’d missed “every single performance of Alix’s” on Dancing With the Stars, Berrios explained: “I would’ve been at every one if I could’ve, sadly I can’t travel like that in season.”
Meanwhile, Earle hinted that she was struggling even before releasing her tear-filled TikTok video on Saturday.
“Is my frontal lobe developing [because] I’m about to turn 25 and usually I stress [about] having the biggest party?” Earle, wrote over a TikTok video shared Wednesday. “All I want to do is workout, meditate, play card games and have good convos [with] the people closest to me.”
She captioned the post, “Either I’m maturing or just [really] going [through] it. Maybe both.”
